Work on the next-generation Mini Cooper is underway, and it promises to be radically different than the current car. In fact, thanks to a new platform sourced from BMW, it’s expected to shift from front-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive. That would be a first for the Cooper hatch, which has sent power through its front wheels in every iteration going back to the 1959 original nearly 70 years ago.

 

Mini fans will need to exercise some patience. The current Cooper was only launched in 2024, and a facelift is still at least two years away. There’s no word on when the next-generation model will be ready, but it almost certainly won’t be until next decade. Until then, Mini intends to signal where the range is headed through facelifts and new derivatives, according to design chief Holger Hampf, speaking to Autocar.